Led Southwest to first state title

By Chris Miller-Prep Sports Writer

Published: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 11:00 AM.

“When we played Swansboro I think we showed a certain toughness and our athleticism was really on display that night,” he said. “That really made me feel that we had to be one of the top 5-10 1-A teams in the state.”

Southwest certainly showed it was good by winning its final 12 games en route to the title. However, there were certain games that didn’t please the Southwest coach.

“There was actually a point in the season where we had a lot of wins with big margins and I think we developed some bad habits during that period. Some people started to get selfish and careless, defensively,” Sweeney said.

“I think the best teacher is the game itself and, in particular, going to overtime against Dixon the second time we played them (a 3-1 Southwest win at Dixon on Oct. 17), I think that set off some alarm bells to the guys that they needed to rediscover that seriousness and focus that they had earlier in the season if we were going to make it to our goals.”

The Stallions did regroup and became a dangerous club at the right time. They were determined to advance to the state final after losing in the East Regional final the previous two years.

And as a result, Southwest captured an elusive state championship. But while Sweeney finally has a state title with the boys’ program, he knows his job of keeping the Stallions competitive is never finished.

“Every year you are trying to accomplish the same thing because every year you have seniors and you want to send them out with a ring,” said Sweeney, a former Southwest soccer player. “We have picked out the rings the boys will be getting. I am happy to see that.”

John Sweeney has made it a habit recently of earning state championship rings.

Not only did the Southwest coach lead his boys’ soccer team to its first state title this season, Sweeney has also directed the girl’s soccer program to a pair of championships in three years.

Simply put, Sweeney has made soccer at Southwest respectable, and a force other teams have to go through if they want to win titles.

And it makes Sweeney feel pretty good that the Stallions are where they are now on the pitch, given all the work he said others have done for the program.

“I know a lot of people have put in a lot of work over the years for Southwest soccer,” said Sweeney, The Daily News boys’ soccer coach of the year for 2012. “Obviously this (a state title) is the pinnacle for any program, and so to reach that goal after all the effort by all the people, it’s rewarding.”

While he will never admit it, the 35-year-old Sweeney is the main reason the Stallions have become so good in soccer.

And because he led Southwest to the NCHSAA 1-A title this season, Sweeney was named the area’s coach of the year, beating out Jacksonville’s Dave Miller, who led the Cardinals to a 26-1 record and the state 3-A crown.

The honor was voted on by the coaches and The Daily News sports staff.

In his ninth season as Southwest’s coach, Sweeney directed the Stallions to a 14-2-2 overall mark, a 6-0 record in the Coastal Plains Conference and their state title.

Southwest defeated Lake Norman Charter 2-0 in the state 1-A final at the Dail Soccer Stadium at N.C. State University to cap off a postseason that saw the Stallions get better and better with game.

The Stallions outscored their five postseason opponents by a combined 17-2 score, including a 2-0 victory at a one-loss James Kenan team that beat Southwest earlier in the season, and a 4-1 win over Franklin Academy in the East Regional final.

“Yeah, I do feel we improved with every match (in the playoffs),” Sweeney said. “I felt a lot of that came from our seniors. They were pushing the guys and reminding them to stay focused and they set the example in practice and in games.”

Southwest started the season at 2-2-2 while playing a difficult nonconference schedule, something Sweeney has typically favored because it prepares the Stallions for the playoffs.

One of those ties was a 1-1 draw to 2-A Swansboro. It was a match that showed Sweeney that his team could compete against good teams.

“When we played Swansboro I think we showed a certain toughness and our athleticism was really on display that night,” he said. “That really made me feel that we had to be one of the top 5-10 1-A teams in the state.”

Southwest certainly showed it was good by winning its final 12 games en route to the title. However, there were certain games that didn’t please the Southwest coach.

“There was actually a point in the season where we had a lot of wins with big margins and I think we developed some bad habits during that period. Some people started to get selfish and careless, defensively,” Sweeney said.

“I think the best teacher is the game itself and, in particular, going to overtime against Dixon the second time we played them (a 3-1 Southwest win at Dixon on Oct. 17), I think that set off some alarm bells to the guys that they needed to rediscover that seriousness and focus that they had earlier in the season if we were going to make it to our goals.”

The Stallions did regroup and became a dangerous club at the right time. They were determined to advance to the state final after losing in the East Regional final the previous two years.

And as a result, Southwest captured an elusive state championship. But while Sweeney finally has a state title with the boys’ program, he knows his job of keeping the Stallions competitive is never finished.

“Every year you are trying to accomplish the same thing because every year you have seniors and you want to send them out with a ring,” said Sweeney, a former Southwest soccer player. “We have picked out the rings the boys will be getting. I am happy to see that.”